by Maryan 2/2/10: Okay, so here I live in a beautiful suburb outside of Boston. The weather today was a chilly 0 degrees F, with a windchill of 5 below. We had warm spring like weather last week, and some light snow two days ago.
We are presently working on pushing for the City of Newton to clear its sidewalks of snow so wheelchair users like myself, can
traverse down the sidewalks instead of competing with the traffic. I noticed it is not pleasant to be sitting in the street waiting for the bus to come by because I am unable to get my wheelchair up over the 4 foot piles of snow on the sidewalk curbcuts.
There is a problem here, a large problem.
I took a look at some of the civil rights laws governing our city and wheelchair access. The Federal ADA Title II (section 35.133) as well as the 504 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all require for our public entity to keep the sidewalks and accessible features (curbcuts) clear of snow and obstructions. Sec. 504 states:
No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in section 7(20), shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service.
So, if there are federal mandates requiring for access, how is it we are so behind here in this affluent suburb? What can be done about this?
Newton used to have a residential sidewalk clearing snow ordinance. However, it was repealed almost two decades ago. The City of Newton does not have a Commission to assist persons with disabilities, but rather has a Committee composed of people with disabilities, funded under the federal CDBG program.
Last summer, a wheelchair user in NH sued the town of Tilton for failure to clear snow on a public sidewalk. He won $60,000.
I believe this sends home a strong message for us.
How are Newton residents and City Hall going to uphold our responsibility for making sure our sidewalks and curbcuts are clear? How are we to make sure the HP parking places and other accessible ramps are not blocked by snow during our New England winters? The only real option I see is for residents to clear their sidewalks around the city, along with their curbcuts. But the DPW and contractors need to do their part. Right now, they are impeding sidewalk access by storing the street snow on the wheelchair ramps. This is an unacceptable practice. Although after repeated snow storms, the areas to store snow may be limited, and the newly shoveled crosswalks and curbcuts may appear to be a good storage site, we have to make a point to educate and enforce the need for access.
Our sidewalks are public. Persons with disabilities, elders, service animals and their companions, children, parents with strollers, all need to traverse the public sidewalks to get to public buses, parking, shopping, and bring children to school.
It would be wonderful if everyone just cleared their own sidewalks without a residential sidewalk snow ordinance. However, we know this has not been the case over the years. Now is the time to move forward Newton.
Please clear your sidewalks of snow. Thank you.
Enclosed are photos taken yesterday (1/29/10)
Maryan Amaral, Director
Citizens for Access, Inc.
citizensforaccess@yahoo.com
Photos:
Top photo: Bigelow Students Theresa Kaertner and Sonja Lehmann demonstrate wheelchair access problems due to snow mountain curbcuts at intersection Centre St and Mt. Ida Street, Newton Corner; Photos: 2,3,4,8,10,11: Park Ave-Brackett Street-Waverly Ave, Newton Centre; Photo 5: Academy and Cabot Street, Newton Centre; Photo 6: Centre and Mt. Ida St.; Photo 7:Centre Street in front of Country Day School and across from Carroll Center for the Blind; Photo 9: Elysha Rice demonstrates wheelchair lack of access due to snow on Walnut Street, (across from Bread and Circus, Newton 4 Corners). Thanks to our volunteers!
US Department of Transportation FHA, Office of Civil Rights:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/ada_qa.htm#q31
What obligation does a public agency have regarding snow removal in its walkways? A public agency must maintain its walkways in an accessible condition, with only isolated or temporary interruptions in accessibility. 28 CFR §35.133. Part of this maintenance obligation includes reasonable snow removal efforts. (9-12-06)
What day-to-day maintenance is a public agency responsible for under the ADA? As part of maintenance operations, public agencies’ standards and practices must ensure that the day-to-day operations keep the path of travel on pedestrian facilities open and usable for persons with disabilities, throughout the year. This includes snow removal, as noted above, as well as debris removal, maintenance of accessible pedestrian walkways in work zones, and correction of other disruptions. ADAAG 4.1.1(4). Identified accessibility needs should be noted and incorporated into the transition plan. (9-12-06)
Waban Village Snow Clearance 2010
15 years ago
